For six years, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra has been waiting for the chance to feature the
popular trio Time for Three.

That time has arrived.

The trio, which calls itself a “classically trained garage band,” will perform on Friday in the
Southern Theatre during ProMusica’s annual season-ending Spring Soiree concert, which, along with a
pre-concert reception, serves as a major fundraiser for the orchestra.

Unfortunately, only two of the “Three” will be able to perform. Double bassist Ranaan Meyer will
miss the concert because of a hand injury suffered in a kitchen accident. He will be replaced by
Ethan Jodziewicz, a young bassist who fits right into the trio’s classical crossover style.

Time for Three and ProMusica embrace multiple genres. The program will range from Bach and Bizet
to bluegrass legend Bill Monroe and English folk rockers Mumford & Sons.

“We’ve been trying to get this group to Columbus for six years,” said Janet Chen, executive
director for ProMusica.

“When we learned of the injury to the bassist, we decided the show must go on. They are in a
world where they are connected to many, many good musicians, so I was not worried about them
finding a good replacement.”

Like ProMusica, Time for Three has its roots in classical music but plays a variety of musical
styles.

Violinists Zachary De Pue and Nicolas Kendall, along with Meyer, came together more than a
decade ago as students at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

“Curtis is an incredible school for classical music, and this was a nice release from the
pressures of our studies,” De Pue said recently by phone. “We’d take some classical music and make
some arrangements and some bluegrass music and make arrangements.

“Through the discipline of classical music and being open to other genres, there is a freedom
that comes.”

Each of the three players adds his own ingredient to the musical stew. De Pue enjoys bluegrass;
Meyer favors jazz; and Kendall is big on hip-hop.

De Pue, of Bowling Green, Ohio, developed eclectic tastes long before arriving at Curtis.

His father, Wallace De Pue, is a Columbus native who earned degrees at both Capital University
and Ohio State University; he is retired from the Bowling Green State University music faculty.

The younger De Pue studied the violin, as did his three brothers.

“It was really a mix of bluegrass and classical music that my dad had us learning,”

De Pue said. “We were learning the standard classical rep but learning fiddle tunes in the
summertime.”

In addition to performing with Time for Three, De Pue is in his seventh year as concertmaster of
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, a post he achieved at age 27.

Kendall is a founder of the Dryden String Quartet, along with his sister, Yumi; cousin Daniel
Foster; and Murit Bar-Josef. He also helped establish the East Coast Chamber Orchestra.

Meyer is the founder of quarterly journals for bassists and cellists.

Time for Three has performed in venues as disparate as Carnegie Hall and the Indianapolis 500.
Its 2010 album,
Three Fervent Travelers, remained in the top 10 on the
Billboard crossover chart for 10 months.

The group has had a multi-year residency with the Indianapolis Symphony and devotes 14 weeks a
season to performing, fundraising and conducting education and outreach programs for the
symphony.

The trio’s anti-bullying music video,
Stronger, has led it to participate in anti-bullying youth programs. In Columbus, it is
scheduled to visit the KIPP Journey Academy in the North Linden neighborhood.

Having labored so long to land Time for Three, Chen said she is eager to see how the ensemble
meshes with ProMusica.

As a fundraiser, the concert and reception are important; ProMusica pulls in 12 to 14 percent of
its almost $1.2 million annual budget at the event.

Musician substitutions are a fact of life for performance groups.

ProMusica has been affected more so than usual this season.

Violinist Vadim Gluzman, principal guest artist with ProMusica, canceled a November appearance
because of a family illness; and soprano Katherine Danzmayr, wife of music director David Danzmayr,
canceled a February appearance as a soloist because of a vocal-cord injury.

In both cases, substitutes were found.

Chen took an upbeat view of such situations: “See, that’s why we need live concerts; you never
know what to expect.”